


Hold My Hand?

by maxiedear



Category: DreamWorks Dragons (Cartoon), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Budding Love, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Original Character-centric, Race To The Edge, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Indulgent, Self-Insert
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-01
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2020-07-28 07:38:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20060410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maxiedear/pseuds/maxiedear
Summary: When my prosthetic leg is bent out of shape, I visit the Edge for Hiccup's expertise and opinion. As I fly over the ocean, making my way to the Edge, I think back to a few months ago when my friends were still on Berk. Even though I wasn’t approached to battle the dragon trappers with them, I still appreciated the fact that they let me visit when I could.





	1. Bent Out of Shape

**Author's Note:**

> This is self-indugent and based on my own daydreams and various other drabbles I have read in the past. I have a lot of feelings and I love Snotlout a lot. Partially based on my own emotions.

As I fly over the ocean, making my way to the Edge, I think back to a few months ago when my friends were still on Berk. Even though I wasn’t approached to battle the dragon trappers with them, I still appreciated the fact that they let me visit when I could.

“Let’s make this trip worth it,” I say to my dragon, a hobblegrunt named Moss. She chirps at me while she flies the familiar route, steadying herself on the wind. I can see the island up ahead, the huts and stables slowly coming into view. As we approach, I see Hiccup waiting on the landing pad, looking through a stack of papers in his hands.

“Ah, there they are,” he says when Moss lands. “I didn’t know exactly when you were arriving, so I’ve been looking back on the sketches and plans I’ve done before. Let’s go upstairs and see what we can do about that leg.”

“Can Moss fit inside? I can barely put any weight on it,” I tell Hiccup, showing him the bend in the metal. “I don’t even know what happened. One day I put it on and fell face-first onto the floor.”

“We’ll figure it out,” he assures me. When the Green Death was still sending dragons to Berk for food, I lost most of my left leg when a fire caught on to my boot and leggings. Thankfully It didn’t spread, but the old, wooden prosthetic Gobber gave me was uncomfortable. After Hiccup started designing his own legs, he offered to make me another one and I took him up on his offer. He’s been doing maintenance and redesigns ever since.

As we walk up to his hut, Ruffnut and Tuffnut spot us and head over.

“Look who it is, our dear friend Luta has come to visit,” Tuffnut says.

“I dare say, they look a lot taller when atop a dragon,” Ruffnut adds.

“I would hope so,” I laugh. “I wouldn’t want to look _shorter_.” 

“Are you here only for Hiccup?” Tuff asks you.

“I’m here for Hiccup’s expertise, but after that I’m here for everyone.”

“Did something happen to your leg again?” Ruffnut asks.

“Yeah, but I don’t know what. I woke up and it was bent out of place, and I’m pretty sure I didn’t do it in my sleep,” I tell them. I usually take off the prosthetic when I’m in bed, and I was certain I didn’t fall asleep with it on.

“Did you ask your parents?” Tuff offers.

“I haven’t even been staying with them, I don’t know why they would know.” 

“Wait, where have you been staying then?” Hiccup says, stopping to give me a confused look.

“Uh… the arena…” I tell him.

“Luta, you can’t just stay in the arena forever. Why didn’t you go to my house?”

“I didn’t want to be a bother. Stoick has been stressed lately and he’s already done so much…” I ramble. Hiccup and I have been friends since we were small, and Stoick was like a father to me. He protected me when I needed it, but I felt guilty for even needing him. My family wasn’t the greatest, but since they had standing in the archipelago, Stoick couldn’t do much about them. He let me live with him whenever I felt unsafe, and insisted I went to Dragon Training with Hiccup and the rest of the teens despite my lack of a leg. Like always, he said it was an occupational hazard of being a Viking.

“You could have come here,” Tuffnut tells me. “We don’t have room in our hut, but...”

“I don’t know… I didn’t think I was the type, and you guys did kind of leave me on Berk,” you say.

“They’ve got a point, we kind of did,” Ruffnut adds.

“I really just want my leg fixed,” I say to Hiccup.

“Let’s figure this out then,” he says as he continues up to his hut. When we get there, he helps me off Moss and sits me in a chair to look at my leg. “That’s a pretty big bend, Luta. We might just have to make a new one…”

“If that’s what needs to be done,” I sigh. Making a whole new leg will take time, but I know Hiccup will do it right. “Do you have a crutch or something I can use so I don’t have to sit in this chair forever?”

“Don’t worry, I have one,” he says. He rifles through some boxes and trunks before he finds one, and hands it to me. “This might be the only one the twins haven’t destroyed, but the new and improved leg shouldn’t take long.”

“Thanks, Hiccup. You’re a life saver,” I tell him before I leave his hut. He’s already at his desk figuring out what needs to be done, so I leave him to it. I all but stumble to the main club house to rest and catch up with anybody that stops in. Fishlegs brings me a few books to flip through while I wait, knowing I won’t ruin them. I sit in a corner, happy to have some quiet time.

“Get off me!” I hear a familiar voice yell, struggling with something I can’t see. Snotlout stumbles into the club house, a terrible terror climbing on his shoulders and helmet. “Why does this always happen to me?!”

I sit back and watch, putting down the book and waiting to see the outcome of this encounter. When Snotlout gets a grip on the terror, he pulls off a letter tied around its neck.

“Luta? They’re not even here,” he tells the small dragon after reading who the note is for.

“I am, actually,” I say from the corner. Snotlout jumps at my voice, he hadn’t noticed me sitting silently by myself.

“Geez, Luta. You really don’t need to do that every time you visit,” he says as he walks over to me.

“Its not my fault you got attacked by a terror mail and didn’t see me,” I grin.

“You could have helped.” 

“I’m down a leg, I wouldn’t be much help on the floor,” I say as I gesture to where my prosthetic should be. Snotlout pulls a chair up next to me and sits down. I can see scratches on his face and upper arms from the terrible terror, and a few bruises to match. “Those things are so small, but pack such a big punch,” I tell him as I poke a bruise.

“Ow, don’t do that,” he whines. “That one’s from the other day. Astrid kicked my butt in training. Again.” He sighs and rubs the bruise, and remembers the note in his hand. “This is for you apparently.”

“Its probably nothing good,” I say, taking it from his hand. I recognize the family seal and sigh, not wanting to open it.

“Its from your family, isn’t it?” he asks softly.

“I don’t feel like opening it right now. I just got here, I don’t need more stress.” I run my hand over my braids and take a deep breath, putting the note in my pocket. “Can you help me get outside? This crutch sucks.”

“I’ve got you,” he says as he wraps an arm around me, helping me stand as I wrap my own around his neck. He says nothing as he takes me outside and sits me down at the edge of the landing.

“Thanks, Snotlout. I’ve been sitting in that chair for too long.”

“Are you okay if I leave you for a bit? I need to feed Hookfang before he burns down my house,” he asks.

“I should be, I just wanted to watch the ocean for a bit,” I answer. He nods and leaves me to myself, hurrying to find Hookfang before he starts lighting everything on fire.

After a while, everyone comes back to the clubhouse to make dinner. Hiccup helps me back inside, and says he’s started building an improved leg and tells me it shouldn’t take much longer. The twins bring fish they caught earlier, but leaves the cooking to Fishlegs. I feel useless as Snotlout and Astrid get out dishes and utensils, but the fact that the twins are playing on of their violent games with themselves makes me feel a little better.

“Do you want to stay in here? I can bring up a bedroll for you,” Hiccup asks me.

“They’re staying with me, like always,” Snotlout tells him.

“You really don’t have to stay with Snotlout if you don’t want to,” Astrid says. “I would rather sleep in the boar pit than with him.”

“It’s what we’ve done every time I’ve visited in the past,” I shrug. “We have a system.”

“Not everyone hates me, Astrid,” Snotlout scowls. “Unlike you, Luta appreciates my company.”

“If you can call it that,” I laugh. Snotlout glares at me, which makes everyone else laugh too. Snotlout and I have bonded over our family troubles and general feelings of being overlooked. He’s become a good friend of mine, despite what the others think.

When everyone decides its time to turn in, he helps me to his hut. Moss and Hookfang follow us, chirping at each other. Snotlout helps me to his desk and I take my pack off Moss’s back, and he brings lays out a bedroll on the opposite side of the room, across from his bed. I watch as he goes through his nightly routine of massaging nightmare gel on Hookfang.

As he finishes, I remember the note from my family in my pocket, and take it out to read it. The contents don’t surprise me, but they still make me upset. I ball up the paper in my hands and throw it across the room in my anger, before hiding my face in my hands.

“Whoa, Lu,” Snotlout says as he picks up the note. “That bad, huh?”

I take a deep breath and nod, but say nothing.

“Can I read it?”

I nod again, and hear him uncrumple the paper. After a moment he sighs, and I hear him walk over to me.

“I’m sorry, Luta,” he says as he places a hand on my shoulder. The note from my own family said they didn’t want to see me come back to Berk, and that they bent my leg to get me off the island, knowing I would go to the Edge for Hiccup’s help. “You need to tell Hiccup and Stoick about this.”

“I know. I just don’t know how,” I say as I look up at him. He has a concerned look on his face, and I can still see some of the scratches from earlier. “I just want to belong somewhere...”

My eyes betray me, and the tears that had welled up begin to trail down my cheeks. Snotlout’s face goes from surprised to confused, to concerned, and he pulls over another chair. He wraps his arms around my middle, and pulls me closer to him. I wrap my arms around his neck and bury my face in his shoulder, trying to take deep breaths.

“We can tell Hiccup tomorrow,” he tells me. “I’ll go with you.”

“Thank you,” I say, squeezing him. He pulls away and tells me I should get some rest from the long flight and stress, and easily lifts me up. I try to protest when he puts me in his bed, but he shushes me and walks away.

“Don’t even think about trying to switch, you deserve a night in an actual bed,” he tells me, a stern look on his face.

“Can you maybe sleep a little closer?” I ask him hesitantly. He pulls the bed roll across the room, putting it next to his bed. He smiles as he takes off his helmet and puts it in its usual spot on the bedpost, and blows out the lantern. My eyes take a few moments to adjust to the moonlight, and I can see him on the ground next to me.

“Snotlout?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I hold your hand?”

Snotlout holds his hand out to me without saying anything, and I take it. My hand feels small in his, and his fingers are cold against mine. We lay together in the moonlight, a comfortable silence between us.

“Luta?” Snotlout whispers to me after a few moments, so quiet I could barely hear him.

“Hmm?”

“You belong here,” he says as he squeezes my hand. I squeeze back and smile to myself before falling into a restful sleep.


	2. Keep Me Steady

Before I’m fully awake, I hear two familiar voices booming outside. When I open my eyes, Snotlout is missing from the bedroll next to me. I stretch and sit up, and see him sitting at his desk, head in his hands.

“Is that the twins?” I ask him.

“Yep. They started doing a morning show,” Snotlout sighs. “Every morning they wake all of us up as soon as the sun rises. I offered to tie them to their beds every night, but it got turned down for being ‘inhumane’.”

“Are they going to be done soon?”

“Hopefully. I just wanted five more minutes of quiet…”

I swing my leg over the bed and pause.

“Do you think Hiccup is done with my leg?”

“He probably stayed up all night making it. If he sets his mind to something, he doesn’t stop until it’s done,” he shrugs. “I can go check if you want.”

“That would be helpful. If he’s not done, can you bring Moss back here? I don’t want to make you carry me everywhere today.”

“I’ll be back soon,” he smiles. Snotlout goes to find Hiccup, leaving me in his bed. There’s a book on his nightstand, and I pick it up to look at it. The front page says ‘The Many Ways I am Unappreciated’, written in Snotlout’s handwriting. I chuckle and start reading his self-written book, agreeing with most of what he says. After a while I hear feet running towards the hut, and Snotlout opens the door.

“Check it out, Lu, Hiccup made an even cooler leg for you,” he says as he hands me my new leg. It has a knee joint with a spring inside and a curved metal piece where the calf and foot would be. It feels light but sturdy, and has a ‘Hiccup Flare’ like always. I roll up my pant leg to put what is left of mine into the socket, and the fit feels perfect. I roll my pant leg back down over it, and tie everything in place. Snotlout helps me stand as I test my weight against the new leg, keeping me steady as I find my balance.

“Does it feel okay?” he asks me as I take a few steps forward.

“It feels great,” I smile. I walk to him and he takes my hands in his, grinning. “I’ll have to wear it for a bit to see if anything rubs the wrong way or if I get any blisters, but this seems better than the last one.”

“I’m glad it feels good,” Snotlout smiles softly as we stand hand in hand. After a moment, I wrap my arms around his middle, pulling him in to a hug. He pauses before doing the same, almost like he didn’t know where to put his hands.

“Thank you,” I whisper to him.

“For what?”

“Everything. I appreciate everything you do,” I tell him as I pull away. “You’ve been a really good friend to me.”

“I asked why we didn’t bring you, you know,” he says after a moment. “Before we left to come here.”

“You did?”

“Yeah,” he nods. “I didn’t know nobody had told you we were leaving until everything was packed and we were about to leave. I asked where you were, and Astrid said you would be better off staying on Berk. Hiccup agreed, he knows what you’ve been through there, so I thought things did get better.” Snotlout looks down at his feet to avoid looking in my eyes, and continues. “I didn’t know nothing had changed. I didn’t even write to make sure they had. I’m not a good friend…”

I place my hand on his cheek, making him look up at me.

“But you cared enough to ask why I wasn’t with you. You’ve been here for me before that and since. You’re the one who offered to share a hut the first time I visited, and you’re the one who put me in your bed last night,” I tell him. “I didn’t tell you things hadn’t changed, and I didn’t tell you I’ve been staying in the training arena, and I should have.”

“You’ve been staying in the arena?” he asks me, concern and guilt in his eyes. “Lu, you should have told me.” He pulls me close again, squeezing me tight.

“I know,” I say as I squeeze him back. “I didn’t think I was wanted here, but when you told me I belong here last night, I knew I at least belonged with you.”

We stand there, holding each other for a few moments before being jolted back to reality.

“Uh… am I interrupting something?”

We both freeze and turn to look at the voice coming from the still open doorway. I see Snotlout’s ears go red, and he quickly curls his arms into his chest.

“I just wanted to see how the leg was working,” Hiccup says awkwardly, embarrassed he walked in on us.

“I think its working great,” I tell him. “I’ll have to wear it for a bit to see for sure, but its even better than the last one.”

“Oh good,” he smiles. “I don’t think I slept last night.”

“You can’t keep doing that,” I say as I walk over to him. “I would have survived if I had to wait longer.”

“I know, I just get caught up in whatever I’m doing.”

“Can we tell you something?” I ask him, looking back at Snotlout. He walks over to his desk and picks up the letter my family sent me yesterday.

“Um… yeah, if you’re ready to tell me, I’ll support you,” Hiccup says as he rubs the back of his neck, blushing.

“I figured out what happened to my leg,” I tell him, confused about why he was getting embarrassed. Snotlout hands him the letter and places a hand on my shoulder.

“When did you get this?” Hiccup asks, anger rising in his throat.

“A little after I got here. I didn’t open it until late last night, though…”

“We need to leave. Now.”

When Hiccup goes to gather the rest of the gang, I fall to my knees shaking. _What will he do? What will Stoick do? What will happen to me?_ My thoughts race, and it feels like I’m drowning.

“Hey, Luta,” Snotlout says as he kneels down next to me. “Its okay, I’m right here.”

When I don’t respond, he wraps his arms around me again and holds me tight. I grip his shirt to ground myself, trying to catch my breath. He pulls me into his lap and rubs my back to even my breathing, whispering to me.

“Guys, wings up in five,” Hiccup says when he comes back around the corner. “Oh.”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for them to go,” Snotlout tells him. I hide my face in his chest, not wanting Hiccup to see me like this.

“I’ll take care of this. Stay here with them,” Hiccup says. “I’ll bring the letter straight to my father, Luta. He’ll know what to do.”

I feel Snotlout nod as Hiccup walks away. Soon after, I hear the wingbeats of everyone’s dragons taking flight, leaving the Edge to take care of my own problems. I take deep breaths to try to keep myself from crying, but when Snotlout squeezes me tighter the tears fall anyways. He holds me as I cry, never telling me to stop or to calm down. He lets me ride out my emotions, and I know he’s doing it because he understands what its like to be scared.

“Its okay, Lu,” he says softly. “Can we sit on the bed? My legs are starting to hurt.”

When I nod, he doesn’t give me the chance to stand, he easily lifts me and sets me down on his bed once more. He sits against the headboard and wraps his arm around my shoulder, pulling me back to his chest. I wrap my own around his middle, snuggling into his side. We sit together for a long time as he lets me cool down from the panic I felt earlier, watching the clouds go by through the open door, sitting together in silence.

“This has all been too much for me,” I say to him, breaking the long silence. “I just want a quiet life…”

“Yeah… I do like beating people up, though,” Snotlout shrugs. When I chuckle, he laughs too. “Gotta work those muscles somehow, babe.”

I pause and think for a second, trying to remember if he has ever called me ‘babe’ before.

“I don’t think you’ve ever called me that,” I tell him.

“Called you what?”

“Babe. You only call me ‘Lu’, and that’s if we’re alone.”

Snotlout pauses as well, thinking about what I told him.

“I guess… maybe you were always more than that to me,” he says hesitantly. “Like I never needed to call you anything special to get your attention. All I needed to say was your name, and you were right there, listening to what I was saying or watching what I was doing.”

“You always listen to me, of course I would listen to you,” I say to him as I sit up to look at him. “Someone needs to watch whatever ridiculous stunt you’re trying to do.”

“I knew someone would appreciate all the things I do,” Snotlout grins.

“It’s more so someone-should-be-there-when-he-gets-hurt… but we can call it appreciation if that makes you feel better,” I smile.

“Okay, I’ll give you that one.”

I lay my head back down on his chest and sigh. We haven’t been so physically close before now, and it felt good to be wrapped in his strong arms. I can hear his heart speed up when I squeeze him, and slow down when he lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. He wraps his arms around me again, and rests his cheek on the top of my head.

“This is nice,” he tells me after a few moments. “We should have done this earlier.”

“Mmm, let’s just enjoy it now,” I say softly.

“Kinda sucks that it took a panic attack though,” he says.

“I feel safe now, that’s all that matters.”

“Yeah?”

“You’re strong and comfortable, and you’re my best friend,” I tell him. Snotlout squeezes me again and sighs.

“Maybe… you can stay here now,” he says hesitantly. “I want you to be here with me.”

“Do you think the others will agree?” I ask him.

“I don’t know why they won’t. You and Moss would have to learn the new formations and plans, but it’s not like you haven’t been a part of this before,” he tells me. “We know you can fight, and it would be nice to have someone that’s as good of a shot as you are.”

I hum as I think everything over. I’ve wanted to join everyone on the Edge since I heard they set up a base, but I never thought they would actually want me to be a part of it. Moss isn’t the fastest dragon, but neither is Meatlug. I can hold my own in battle and I’m proficient in archery, I can cook and chop wood… There isn’t any reason I couldn’t join. I sit up and face Snotlout.

“You’ll vouch for me?” I ask him again.

“Of course I’ll vouch for you, Lu,” he says as he sits up. “Like you said earlier, you belong here with me.”

“I want to be with you,” I say as I take his hand. I can feel my face and neck heat up as he brushes a loose strand of hair from my face, and I can see his eyes sparkle. “Can we do something?”

“Uhh… I mean, if you want,” he says, his cheeks and ears going red.

“Do you wanna go spar?”

“Oh. Yeah. We can do that,” the blush dissipating.

When I lean forward and gently kiss his cheek, the redness returns, and his eyes widen. I stand up and go to leave, and catch him out of the corner of my eye pumping his fists in the air.

We walk together to the training arena and choose weapons off the rack, him choosing a sword while I choose one of the many axes. As we spar, he gives me tips on how to block his hits better and I help him keep his balance. Soon we’re both sweating under the sun, and lay down on the cool, stone floor of the arena.

“You’ve gotten better since last time,” he tells me.

“You’ve gotten more cocky,” I reply.

“I can’t help it, my only flaw is over confidence.”

I laugh at his admittance, agreeing with him. His hand brushes against mine, and I link my fingers with his. He gently squeezes my hand and sighs, and I can see a small, peaceful smile on his face. I close my eyes and sigh, letting my mind rest after a stressful morning. Sparring helped quell my anger and let me focus on my actions rather than linger on my thoughts, allowing me to further calm down.

“I need to wash my face and hair. Do you want to come with?” Snotlout asks, breaking the comfortable silence.

“Please. I feel too grimy, and my braids need to be redone anyways,” I reply.

“Can you get the dragons ready? I’ll go get my soap,” he says as he sits up. I stand and go to find and feed our dragons as he gathers his bathing supplies, and he meets me on the landing strip in front of the stables.

“Just follow us to the nicest bathing spot on the island,” Snotlout grins. “I’ve kept it as secret as I could, I don’t want the twins messing it up.”

“_Do_ they bathe?” I joke.

“You know, I’m not sure. Ruffnut puts fish oil in her hair, but other than that… who knows,” he shrugs. He guides us to his spot, a cove with a small pond with river going through it, surrounded my large rocks and trees. I take in the view as he unpacks his various soaps, awed by the beauty of the area.

“Lu? You okay?” he asks me.

“Yeah, I’m great,” I tell him. “This is beautiful.”

“A beautiful spot for a beautiful person,” he says as he smiles at you. “I mean, look at me.”

I roll my eyes at him and grin as I take out my braids, letting my hair fall to my shoulders. I keep my hair at shoulder length, still long enough to braid and tie up, but not too long that it gets in the way. There’s a faint blush on Snotlout’s cheeks as he hands me a comb, letting me use it first. We sit next to the water, being careful to not soak our clothes.

“Gods, that’s cold,” I shudder after I dunk my head in the still water.

“I guess I should have brought a kettle or something,” Snotlout says as he shivers. “Its not usually so cold, but then again the weather is changing.”

“Just hand me the soap so I can get this over with,” I say as I wipe the hair and water from my eyes. When he hands it to me, I quickly run it over my hair and hand it back to him, sudsing my face and hair. I dunk my head again, rinsing the soap and grime off my skin.

When I lift my head, I let the water run down my face as I squeeze the excess from my hair. Snotlout taps my shoulder and I turn to face him, my eyes still closed. He gently pushes the hair from my face, wiping the water from my forehead and eyes. His thumb trails over my cheek, his fingers brushing my jaw. I hear him move closer, and my heart beats faster, his breathing close to mine. When his lips press against mine, my body tenses and he pulls away. I lean back in and he breathes a sigh of relief, meeting my kiss. 

After a moment we pull apart, and I open my eyes and smile. Snotlout smiles back at me, but coughs into his fist and leans back.

“So… does this mean we can start dating?” he asks hesitantly.

“Yeah, I think it does,” I grin.

“Oh, thank Thor, I didn’t want that to be a one-time thing,” he says, relieved I agreed with him. I laugh at him and push the damp hair from his face, returning his gesture from before. “Can you comb my hair? Or is that weird?”

“If you comb and braid mine, I’ll comb yours,” I tell him. I kneel behind him and run the comb through his hair, slicking it back away from his face in the way he likes it. He sighs and leans into me, relaxing under my touch. I can see his eyes are closed and his breathing evens out. “You can’t fall asleep yet, you still have to do mine.”

He grumbles but sits up, taking the comb from me. We trade places, and he starts to section out my hair. He combs each section before starting to braid, making more than I would have done myself. His nails gently scrape against my scalp, taking care to not pull too hard. He puts in three tight braids on each side of my head, and loosely weaves the top.

“You should put silver beads in, they would look nice with your skin,” he quietly muses.

“I would have to buy or make some, I don’t have any of my own,” I tell him. He hums as he sits down next to me, resting his elbow on his knee and propping his head up. I can see him thinking, but I leave him to his thoughts. “Thank you, for today. It started out kinda shitty, but I feel better now.”

“It’s no problem, Lu. You would do the same for me,” he tells me.

“I know, but I can still be grateful for your company.”

“So you’ll call it company now, but not last night?” he jokes.

“I have to keep everyone on their toes, can’t let them know I’m weak in the knees,” I grin. “Hiccup already suspects us, you know.”

“Based on his reaction to seeing us hug this morning, yeah, I know.”

“What a guy. Flustered by his own friends hugging,” I laugh.

“He has poor constitution, seeing affection can put him down for a week,” he jokes. “He barely lets Astrid give him affection.”

“Well he better get used to it,” I say as I lean against him. He wraps an arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer. We sit together in silence as we watch the water until the sun is setting, and return to the base soon after.


	3. The Perfect Shieldmaiden

Hiccup and the rest of the gang return a couple days later as Snotlout is taking me on patrol, showing me the routes and which direction the dragon trappers usually come from. Hiccup is waiting for us in front of the stables, just like he was when I arrived. He pulls me into a hug when we greet him, squeezing me tight.

“My father banished them from Berk, and they’ve already gone,” he tells me and Snotlout. “He also sent word to the surrounding villages, letting them know to watch them and not believe their lies.”

"Thank you, Hiccup,” I say as I squeeze him back. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

“How was your stay here?” he asks me.

“It was great. Snotlout really went out of his way to make me feel safe,” I saw as I turn to look at him.

“I’m glad he didn’t scare you away,” Hiccup says.

“Hey! I’m not that bad,” Snotlout says as he glares at Hiccup. “Like I’ve sad before, Lu enjoys my company and appreciates me.”

“Lu? That’s new,” Hiccup tells me.

“Its really not, he’s been calling me that for years,” I laugh.

“You don’t need to know everything about us,” Snotlout says as he wraps an arm around my shoulders. “Besides, I can’t call them babe. That’s for Astrid and Heather only.”

“Oh, my gods,” Hiccup says as he rolls his eyes. “Anyways, my father said you can have your family’s house, so don’t worry about not having a place to stay anymore. Do you know when you’re heading back?”

“Actually… I was thinking maybe I could stay here?”

“Oh,” Hiccup says as he raises his eyebrows in surprise. “I didn’t think you would want to.”

“I would rather be here with my friends than alone on Berk, whether or not my family is there,” I tell him. “Snotlout is vouching for me and my skills.”

“They’ve improved a lot, and we don’t have anyone else that has such a good shot from the back of a moving dragon,” Snotlout says as he crosses his arms, challenging Hiccup to disagree.

“We can all talk about it over dinner,” Hiccup says, raising his hands in surrender. “I’m not making a decision myself, we need to ask everyone.”

“Ugh, fine,” Snotlout says, throwing his arms up. As he walks away, I can hear him grumbling to himself. I shrug at Hiccup, and go off on my own to the arena with Moss.

After finding the arrows and the [hafting supplies](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5HdTRCsubQ), I sit in the shade, leaning against Moss, and sharpen the arrowheads that have gone unused. I carefully run each side over a whet stone, keeping the angled edges. I set each sharpened head in a small pile, keeping the unsharpened ones separate.

“What are you doing?” an interested voice behind me asks.

“Sharpening these arrowheads, they wouldn’t have cut through anything if they were left the way they were,” I say to the twins as they approach me. Tuffnut picks up a handful from your sharp pile, yelping as he cuts his fingers. Moss makes a purring noise, and I stare up at him. “Um yeah, maybe don’t pick up random arrowheads that are laying next to a whet stone.”

“It was worth it,” Ruffnut snickers as her brother wipes the blood on his pants.

“At least we know they’re sharp,” he says. “Better to try it than to assume.”

“I could have just told you they were that sharp,” I say as I finish the last one. I start reattaching them to the arrow shafts, being careful to not burn my fingers with the pine resin and making sure to tie the leathered sinew tightly. The twins watch me as I work, quietly awed by my efficiency. The fletchings were still intact and usable, so I leave them for next time.

“Wow, Luta. I didn’t know you could do all of that,” Tuffnut says. “Could you put arrowheads on the tips of my hair? Or no… my fingers would be better.”

“I would rather not,” I say bluntly. “How would you pet Chicken?”

“Oh my Thor, you’re right. How could I forget my beloved Chicken?” he exclaimed. “I was bested by my own thoughts of grandeur.”

“More like thoughts of stupidity,” Ruffnut says, rolling her eyes. “How was your stay with Snotlout? Was it awful?”

“It was actually really nice,” I tell her. “I could actually relax for a couple days and not worry about where I was sleeping, even though the first day was wracked with anxiety. He even braided my hair,” I smile.

“_Snotlout _did those?” Tuffnut asks, seemingly amazed Snotlout could braid. “Do you think he would do mine?”

“I seriously doubt it, but I guess you could ask him,” I shrug.

“Speak of the devil,” Ruffnut says, looking behind me.

“Are you talking about me?” Snotlout asks as he approaches, stopping next to Moss.

“I told them you braided my hair,” I tell him.

“Can you do mine?” Tuffnut asks him excitedly.

“No,” Snotlout deadpans.

“You did Luta’s! How is my hair any different?”

“For one, I know Luta’s hair is clean. Yours is questionable at best,” Snotlout says as he crosses his arms.

“That’s fair…” Tuffnut admits. I sigh and Ruffnut rolls her eyes again, groaning at her brother’s admittance.

“Did you make these?” Snotlout asks me, sitting down and picking up an arrow to examine it.

“They sure did, we watched the whole thing,” Tuffnut tells him.

“Tuff even cut up his hand on a bunch of the heads, so they’ve effectively been poisoned,” Ruffnut adds.

“I don’t think it works that way,” I say. “But all I did was sharpen and re-haft them, I didn’t make them from scratch.”

“Dang, Lu, you keep getting more useful,” Snotlout says, nudging me with his shoulder. 

“I’ve been useful, you guys just haven’t asked about it. If everyone decides I can say, you’ll see more,” I say as I cross my arms.

“You’re petitioning to stay here?” Ruffnut asks me. “Why?”

“Because I’m tired of being alone,” I tell them. The twins pause for a moment, glancing at each other.

“You’ve been alone this whole time?” Tuffnut asks me.

“Well, yeah. You’re all here and my family hates me. I’ve been staying in the academy with Moss,” I say as I pat her side.

“Why didn’t you just come with us?” Ruffnut asks.

“Because nobody told them we were leaving,” Snotlout interjects. “I was told they would be better on Berk, and I didn’t think to check. And now I’m not going to let them go back without a fight.”

“Hiccup said we can all talk about it over dinner,” I tell the twins. “He didn’t want to make a decision without discussing it.”

“Sounds like something he would do,” Tuffnut nods. “Well, we’re fine if you stay, so I guess that just leaves him, Astrid, and Fishlegs.”

“We all just got back defending you, so why wouldn’t they be okay with you staying?” Ruffnut asks no one.

Moss chirps and nuzzles my arm, hungry after a long day.

“Are you a hungry baby?” I coo at her.

“I should probably feed Hookfang, too,” Snotlout adds. “Shall we?” He takes my hand and pulls me to my feet, Moss helping me keep balanced. Ruff and Tuff get up to leave too, handing me the arrows I prepared. Snotlout, Moss, and I head to the stables and the twins go off on their own.

After feeding our dragons, we walk together to Snotlout’s hut. We sit in comfortable silence together on the platform outside, watching the clouds move over the ocean. His hand is on top of mine, and our bracers clink against each other when one of us adjusts how we sit.

“Do you think the others will want me to stay?” I ask him, breaking our silence.

“We only need to convince one of them, but I don’t think Fishlegs would need convincing,” he tells me. “I think Astrid would be the one to object, if she even wants to.”

“You’re right,” I sigh. “I should stop worrying.”

“We’ve got your back, Lu,” Snotlout says as he laces his fingers through mine, and kisses the back of my hand. I put my head on his shoulder and sigh, knowing he’s right. 

We head to the clubhouse to start making dinner, cooking together like we have the past few days. The rest of the gang slowly trickles in, the twins commenting on how good it smells.

“Are you sure you made this?” Tuffnut asks me.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I did,” I tell him.

“It tastes to magical to be human made,” he adds.

“I’m not sure what to tell you, Tuff, other than Snotlout did help so maybe its just the two of us together making something good,” I say.

“I did the same thing I always do, you’ve never said it was magical before,” Snotlout scowls.

“It must be Luta’s special touch then,” Tuffnut grins.

“I’ll show you a special touch,” Snotlout grumbles.

“Okay, okay, that’s not necessary,” Hiccup says, “We have other things to discuss.”

“A discussion? About what?” Fishlegs asks.

“Luta wants to stay on the Edge, and I said that I didn’t want to make a decision without asking the rest of you first,” Hiccup tells everyone. “Does anyone have any objections?”

“This is so exciting! I always wanted another person to geek out with,” Fishlegs squees.

“We also would like Luta to stay,” Ruffnut adds.

“Can’t let this cooking go to waste,” Tuffnut nods.

“Obviously I want the person that appreciates me to stay,” Snotlout grins.

“Hold on, Luta can’t just stay because they’re good at cooking,” Astrid interjects. “Why do you even want to stay? It’s not easy fighting the dragon trappers and keeping on top of everything.”

“I want to stay because I’m tired of being alone and useless on Berk,” I tell her.

“But we just got back from taking care of your family issues,” she says. “Can you even take care of yourself?”

“Excuse me?” I say as I slam my fist against the table. “I’ve been taking care of myself since I was little. I’ve been sleeping on the academy floor since before you all left. Not all of us had loving families and warm houses growing up. Even Stoick didn’t love me enough to bring me into his home permanently.”

“Living on your own is different from being out here, fighting dragon trappers,” she sneers.

“Well I’m sorry I’m not the perfect Viking shieldmaiden like you are, or as inventive as Hiccup. I’m sorry I’m not as smart as Fishlegs, or even the twins. Even Snotlout is stronger than me in almost every way,” I snap. “If you have any _actual_ reasons you don’t want me to stay, discuss it with the rest of them,” I add as I go to leave, whistling for Moss.

“Lu-,” Snotlout calls out, but I raise my hand to cut him off.

“Just give me a minute,” I say as I climb into my saddle, flying off over the forest.

I guide Moss to the cove where Snotlout took me earlier in the week. I am reeling from what Astrid said to me, to everyone. How could she think those things about me? I was there when everyone was dealing with Dagur. I helped manage _Gustav_. I was even with them while fighting the Green Death. My stomach twists and I retch in the tall grass, sick to my stomach that someone could say to my face that I was weak.

I wash my face with the cold water of the pond and lean back against Moss. She coos at me, turning a shade of calming green and vibrating her frill to show she’s here for me. She lays her head in my lap and I run my hands over her scales, the smoothness grounding me.

“I thought I had a chance, girl,” I sigh. “I guess Snotlout was right, though. She was the only one to object, which means I’ll probably get to stay anyways… Maybe I’ll stay out here tonight and let everyone cool down.”

We sit in silence for a while, until the night air chills my bones. I gather firewood and kindling and Moss lights it, making a small fire to watch in the dark. Not long after I hear wingbeats above me, and the not so graceful landing of a Monstrous Nightmare.

“Lu?” Snotlout says as he approaches. “I didn’t know she would do that. I’m sorry…” he sighs as he sits down next to me. “Hiccup made the decision to allow you to stay, though, so I guess that’s the good news. Everyone else wants you here.”

“I figured as much,” I tell him. “I just needed to get out of there before I started throwing things.”

“I get it. But I did throw things. Ruff and Tuff did too,” he admits. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much disappointment and anger on Fishlegs’s face, except when he was Thor Bonecrusher.”

“Thank you for standing up for me,” I say as I smile at him. He scoots closer to me and wraps an arm around my shoulder, and I lean into his side.

“I said I would, didn’t I? I wasn’t going to bail on you,” he smiles back.

“I guess I should make a bed, huh?”

“We can do that tomorrow, and we can find a place to make you a hut.”

“You’re kicking me out already?” I chuckle.

“Well… I guess making a hut can wait,” he grins. “Can’t let you too far out of my sights.”

When I laugh, his smile and eyes soften in the firelight. He brushes his thumb over my cheek and leans in, letting me meet his lips. He kisses me gently, lingering for a few moments.

“Do you want to go back? It’s getting cold out here,” he asks me after he pulls away.

“Yeah,” I nod. “I don’t really want to talk to anyone, though.”

“As long as I can still talk to you,” he smirks.

“I can handle that,” I smile before getting back on Moss’s saddle. We fly back to the base together and head off to bed, Snotlout keeping a smile on my face until we fall asleep.


End file.
